Marijane Funess February 22, 2013 | 06:22:01
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Enhancing Oscar

Merely watching the Oscars on your flat screen is so five minutes ago!

As we in the PR business know, nearly every experience can now be enhanced with a combination of devices, apps and social media know-how. If you are, by some chance, ONLY watching the Oscars on one screen, get with the program!

Here are some fun ways to enhance your award-winning watching:

Before you do anything else, download to your smartphone or tablet, The Oscars (Official App). This aims to be the go-to app for users, bringing you everything from streaming video of the red carpet to tasty recipes to cook up Sunday night. Users can view a list of the nominees, watch videos and see photos, as well as catch a glimpse of the nominees hobnobbing backstage and on the red carpet.

Because you’re bound to thirst for ever more movie knowledge while watching, or because inevitably there is discussion or debate about some actor or director who was involved in some movie you swear you thought you saw, you need IMDb. IMDb will help you curb your curiosity and get to the bottom of that debate. The app contains more than 2 million movie and TV titles and more than 4 million actors and actresses, directors and crew. And this year, the app includes an Oscars section containing a list of nominees, as well as photos from the red carpet and updated results on the winners.

Next, while watching the red carpet on TV, be sure to follow some notable Oscar commentators on Twitter. Mix it up between “real” critics and fun comic types. You’ll want to tweet your own reactions, like, “Oh no @quevenzhanewallis didn’t win!” Or “@silverliningsplaybook scores!” as well as follow, favorite and retweet the experts. These include humorist and author Andy Borowitz @BorowitzReport and Kristen Meinzer @kristenmeinzer, half of the MovieDate critic team on The Takeaway.

Got a group of friends, separated by geography but still yearning to compare notes throughout the telecast? (“Doesn’t Jessica Chastain look beautiful?” “I hope Seth MacFarlane does Stewie!”) Make a Facebook page for the occasion and invite all your friends to a virtual Oscar-watching party. All the fun while still in bed in your jammies!

Finally, the Oscars themselves are a still a storied ritual entrenched in tradition. It was discussed this year that perhaps the results could be delivered digitally sans the fabled envelopes.

But even as tech and social media continue to transform the Oscars into a digitally friendly experience for attendees and viewers, the envelopes have remained in paper format, unlike at other award shows that have presenters read winners’ names on tablets or teleprompters. It appears they will stay that way.

The pundits say the envelope transcends trends, fashion and gadgetry – kind of like the show itself. However you view the Oscars this year, enjoy!

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